insects invade art supply store
kflo...@kermode.net
Hello...
Our daughter's art supply store has a new resident, one a local
pest controller calls a ... (sounds like Sosid).
He is recommending she use a control powder in all drawers, etc.,
but she's concerned that the cure may be worse than the disease as
art papers are very sensitive, particularly the acid-free types.
Does anyone know anything about this insect (sorry about the
spelling) and, if so, what she should do about it, if anything?
Is there a recommended pesticide for use in sensitive situations
or would thoroughly cleaning the drawers and lining them (recommended
liner?) be enough to encourage the pests to bother someone else?
I won't be able to return to the ng over the next few days, so if
you're able to help, an e-mail would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks - I hope..:)
Kathy
'BurkeZoology' C Wood
> Our daughter's art supply store has a new resident, one a local
> pest controller calls a ... (sounds like Sosid).
Assuming the local pest controller is right (which could be a rash
assumption :-), this would be Psocids (a spelling you can be forgiven for
not guessing!). They are small wingless insects belonging to the order
Psocoptera, and usually pronounced "sock-ids" by entomologists, at least
in the USA.
The august Mallis 'Handbook of Pest Control' does *not* recommend taking
any direct action against household psocids, and indeed states that nearly
all of the economic damage caused by these insects takes the form of
needless loss of rent, non-use of products, lawsuits and pest control fees
all wasted by people who automatically assume they are pests, when they
are not! In actual fact they eat microscopic molds and mildews, and these
last are probably the real problem in the store; the psocids are merely a
symptom. Psocids are especially associated with musty old books (and
therefore called "booklice"). Their food is the organisms that make the
old books smell musty. One would hope these old-book fungi would not be
infesting new art papers. Maybe there is a moisture problem, somewhere in
the store. Someone with a sensitive nose should check all drawers and
cabinets for "musty" odors, which will help zero in on the psocids' food.
Once that is eliminated, the booklice should be reduced to just an
occasional sighting.
---Rod Crawford, Burke Museum, Seattle, USA <puff...@u.washington.edu>